


I Guess I'd Be a Hero

by BennyGeckoOfficial



Series: Eddie [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Eventual smut., F/M, canon divergent courier, lots of gun violence., no beta lmaoooo, there's death. lots of death., you'll get some tribal benny content.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:47:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21987649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BennyGeckoOfficial/pseuds/BennyGeckoOfficial
Summary: Eddie has been many things. A daughter, a kidnapped girl, a courier, a fiancee, a dead woman-And eventually, a hero.(My Tumblr is benny-gecko-official.tumblr.com , this is updated intermittently.)
Relationships: Benny (Fallout)/Female Courier, Benny/Courier
Series: Eddie [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566511
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	1. Amos and Heather

**Author's Note:**

> hi! here's more canon-divergent benny/courier except the benny/courier isn't until later and there's a LOT of plot, thanks  
> chapters will be longer than this, this is more or less just a prelude

The night was quiet. Too quiet. It was clogged with clouds, not a star visible to the war-torn wasteland. This was the Capital Wasteland - the remains of Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas. Evil lurked everywhere. Raider gangs were always keeping watch, and one needed to be cautious where they walked.

A man and woman rushed through the night, through the dark of the Capital Wasteland. The woman held a bundle close to her. The baby she held did not cry, simply looked up at her parents with curious blue eyes. She was an infant, and did not know the danger they were in, or why her parents looked so panicked. 

When they were at an area that appeared safe, Amos and Heather Larkin set up camp with their baby girl. A small fire and some bedrolls were all they had, along with some food, and a minute amount of purified water for their child.

Heather slept, while Amos held the cooing baby.   
“Ah, Columbia Cosette…”   
He mused, and she giggled, grabbing his finger.   
“I promise you, I’ll make a better world for you and your mother. My beautiful Columbia…”   
He petted the small brown curls that had popped up on her head. She was their only child, and, considering the complications Heather had undergone during pregnancy, Columbia would be their only child. Amos didn’t mind, though. Columbia was the most beautiful baby he’d ever laid eyes on.

Columbia began to fuss as the wind blew, leaving the both of them chilly, and Amos shushed her, holding her closer.   
“Not now, darling. Do you want papa to sing you a song? Would you like that?”   
He lowered his voice, and began to sing to the girl.   
_ “You are my sun, my stars, my sun and my moon, _ _   
_ _ My yin, my yang, and I think that soon - _ _   
_ _ You’ll see that you can be anything you want to be, _ _   
_ _ You’re special, you’re special, you’re special to me.” _

His voice was untrained, and rough, but it quieted the child, and he sighed, relieved, allowing himself a moment to relax. 

His moment of zen did not last long, though, as he heard yelling. When he looked up, there was a gang of raiders with guns. He stood, holding Columbia to his chest.   
“Heather. Heather, wake up!”   
He went and shook his wife awake, and she was barely standing before the family was held at gunpoint.

A woman towered above them, and stepped in front. She appeared to be the leader of this group, with chiseled features and multiple scars. She had a Cheshire grin on her face.   
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”   
  


“Just a family trying to get to Megaton, ma’am.” Amos replied, hoping this woman would show any kind of mercy to him and his family. Raiders often didn’t, and he felt the dread pool in his stomach.

“How sentimental… how  _ pathetic _ . You think you can come into Mamba territory and set up a camp here for your little family?”   
The woman gestured to the encampment with her gun.   
  
“Please, miss.” Heather begged, finally completely standing.   
“We just need to get to Megaton, that’s all we need.”   
  
The woman scoffed, rolling her eyes, and she aimed her gun at Heather’s forehead.   
“And how does that benefit  _ me _ ?”   
Her eyes then locked on the bundle in Amos’ arms, and she smirked.   
“...I’ll let you two go to Megaton, if you give my men the girl.”

“What-?!” Heather snapped, and lunged toward the woman.   
And Heather was shot dead, her blood soaking the ground under her.   
  
Amos was horrified, trembling, but he still held Columbia close to him.   
“Oh my god-”   
  
The woman tsked, and lowered her weapon.   
“An unfortunate casualty.”   
  
One of her men spoke up, voice hoarse.   
“Esme, we need to be going.”   
  
Esme held up one finger, and looked back at her companion.   
“Brutus. This is a ripe opportunity for us, don’t you think?”   
This was a ripe opportunity, indeed. Maybe they raise the girl until she’s eighteen, and maybe they pawn her off to the Omertas in New Vegas. Yes… that sounded like an opportunity. 

“...Miss… Esme, was it?”   
Amos’ voice shook. His wife was dead. And he would be, too, if he didn’t give Columbia over. If he gave Columbia over, perhaps one day he would see her again. If he didn’t, he had no idea what sort of life she would have.   
“...Her name is Columbia. Columbia Cosette. You won’t hurt her, right?”   
  
Esme smiled. So the man was going to accept, then? Wonderful. Then, he could live. Make his way to Megaton.   
“Sir, I’m a raider. Not a childkiller. Little Columbia will be quite safe with us.”   
  
Amos looked down at his daughter, tearing up. Columbia stared back up at him.   
“...You can be anything, little one. Be a hero.”   
Amos pulled a necklace off of his neck. Dog tags, belonging to an ‘Eddie Ramirez’, an old friend of his.   
“...Eddie is one of the bravest men I knew. He died fighting off raiders from a project he was working on, to try and bring clean water to the Wasteland. I know you’ll make us proud. You’ll be a hero… like Eddie.”   
He put the necklace on Columbia, tears falling as he handed her over.   
  
Esme held the girl, smiling. She would be pretty, one day. Esme was certain of that. She’d make a pretty penny.   
“...Be out of here by sundown tomorrow. Pleasure doing business with you.”   
The Mambas turned, and left towards their encampment. 

Amos was left crying, and he kneeled down next to his wife’s body, now going cold.


	2. Leon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon's adopted daughter is his world, and he wants only good things for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy birthday to me! i'm 21 now. get crunk.  
> these first few introductory chapters aren't gonna be long, but once we get into NV plot they'll be longer i hope.  
> idk i rly hate that they're this short but i don't wanna do multiple timeskips in one chapter.

Leon knew what Esme wanted to do with Columbia, but he was considering getting her out of there before the day came. From the day she arrived in the camp, that baby girl had his heart. She was like the daughter Leon never had. Esme was more than happy to dump parenting duties on Leon, and he took them on with pride. He was the doctor for the Mambas, he didn’t do any of the fighting. Thus, sometimes it would just be Columbia and himself in the camp, while Esme and the other Mambas went out. 

Columbia was a curious child. She wanted to learn everything. Leon taught her to read using old medical books, and by the age of ten she was nose-deep in them all by herself. Leon did  _ everything _ . He taught her, fed her, even took care of small things like haircuts and checkups for his adoptive daughter.

He hoped one day, though, Columbia’s father would come looking for her once again. As much as he adored being ‘Papa Leon’, Columbia had known from the start that her real father was still alive out there somewhere, and her mother was dead. She had taken the news as well as one could, and would seek out information about them when she could. All she had was her old baby blanket, and the dog tags that said ‘Eddie Ramirez’.   
  
Columbia always imagined Eddie as a very strong, cool hero. Eddie fought the bad guys, and he didn’t take shit from anyone! 

When she was thirteen, and witnessed Miss Esme slaughter a family looking for food and shelter, she began to wonder if they were the bad guys.

“Papa Leon-”   
Columbia often spent time in Leon’s tent. Not that he minded. He appreciated the company.   
“Are we the bad guys?”   
  
The question took Leon by shock. He certainly knew that eventually Columbia would realize something was wrong with the Mambas, she was smart. He put down his book, and took off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his tanned nose.   
“That’s a complicated question, Bia.”   
Leon had a slight accent to his voice, but it was always tired. He was always tired. 

“Esme had them kill innocent people.”   
For a thirteen-year old, she was sharp, and she had a lot of views and thoughts about morality.   
  
“Ah, honey…”   
Leon laughed nervously, and shook his head.   
“The Wasteland is a strange place. You’ll learn that, eventually.”   
For being raiders, they’d sheltered Columbia quite a bit. She was an optimist, happy and curious about everything in life. His face fell when he was reminded again what Esme intended her fate to be.   
  
They did live in the Mojave now, but nowhere close to New Vegas, though Leon didn’t know the name of the landmark they were closest to. She was excited for her birthday every year. To Leon, each birthday was like a countdown clock.   
“Come here, sweetheart.”   
Leon patted the spot next to him, and Columbia went and sat down next to him, looking up with those big, blue eyes, the freckles littering her cheeks.

“The world isn’t ‘good’ and ‘evil’. It isn’t black and white. Some people are good, and do evil things. Some people are evil, and do good things. The world is a rainbow, with every color running into the others.”   
He sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder.   
“But… the things Esme does… they are not good. Please remember that.”   
  
Columbia took all of that in, and nodded, looking down at her lap.   
“Ok. I’ll remember. Thank you, Leon! I love you!”   
She hugged him tight, and Leon laughed, ruffling her brown curls.

  
“I love you too, Bia. Now, go play. I have some work to do.”   
He kissed the top of her head, and Columbia ran out of the tent.   
  
Once she was gone, Leon sighed, and laid back in his chair.    
He needed to save this girl. One way or another.   
And that’s when Leon began plotting. He began writing notes and making plans. Esme would not hurt this girl. He swore on his life nothing bad would happen to Columbia Cosette.


	3. The Courier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes are always the hardest part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember this fic?? me either.
> 
> benny-gecko-official.tumblr.com
> 
> THIS IS FOR THAT TUMBLR ANON WHO SENT ME THE SWEETEST MESSAGE  
> this is for all yall but ESPECIALLY THAT TUMBLR ANON

Saying goodbye was the hardest thing Leon had ever had to do.  
Leon knew, as he orchestrated his grand plan to get Columbia Cosette out of the Mamba camp and across the country to the Mojave Desert, he wouldn't be able to stay with the girl he'd raised as his own. It would be much easier for the Mambas to track down Leon - already grown, and unlikely to travel much longer.  
It would be harder for them to track down Columbia. She was young, and better than that, Columbia was bright. She would be able to hide from the Mambas. She would be safe without him, he was confident.  
Still, upon reaching the Mojave Express, Columbia was looking distraught.  
He'd arranged for the proprietor to allow Columbia a mattress on the floor in the building. She would live there and work for her rent and food money until she was old enough to venture out on her own.  
She was only sixteen now. Only was a strong word for Leon to use, however. She was a young woman, now, having arrived in his arms when she was just an infant.  
  
"...So... is this it?"  
Columbia's voice cracked. She knew what had to be done. But she didn't like it any more than Leon did.  
  
"I'm afraid so, darling. The caravan won't wait for me forever."  
His voice was calm and loving. He'd prepared for this day for a long time.  
"I know it will be hard. But you're strong enough. Life..."  
Leon searched his head for the right words to say.  
"Life finds a way of working out. Even in the Hell we live in."  
  
"And that's it?"  
Columbia felt her voice catch in her throat.  
"That's your infinite wisdom you've decided to bestow upon me? That life is gonna fix all this?"  
She wasn't angry with Leon, and he knew this. She laughed it off, shaking her head.  
"...Well, being a mailman can't be all that bad, right?"  
  
Leon's smile softened, and he pulled the girl he'd learned to call his daughter into his arms. He held her close, letting her tears soak into his shirt before he pulled away.  
"Before I go... I have a gift."  
  
"Everyone has a gift before they go. It's in all the stories."  
  
"Ah- but this gift."  
He had a twinkle in his eyes, as he reached into his pocket.  
  
"...Here."  
  
Columbia joined into the laughs, taking it from him.  
"The eyepatch I used to play pirate with when I was a kid. I remember... Thank you."

Columbia was surprised Leon had even kept the thing so long. It meant a lot, actually.  
  
Leon loved her. Columbia knew that. She'd been so lucky to have him, even if her real parents had died a long time ago. Columbia had no idea her father was still alive, and Leon had very little information on it. He had no desire to tell her that her father was alive, and then have her travel back to the Capital Wasteland, only to find him dead.

Leon embraced his daughter one final time, and at the age of sixteen, Columbia Cosette was left alone. She became a package courier for the Mojave Express.  
  
Columbia didn't know how to use a gun. She figured she wouldn't need weapons. Sure, there were plenty of critters out there (and Columbia got winded incredibly quickly) but Columbia could take the safest roads. She had always been very calculated.

-

Columbia Cosette was eighteen years old. An adult, now. Or at least as far as prewar drinking laws went, anyways. 

Columbia had remained fairly safe throughout the years. She learned to not go out unarmed, although she still wasn't the best shot. She'd taught herself, after all. For the most part, she just went back and forth and back and forth between Primm and other destinations. Columbia was bubbly and sweet, and most of her contacts really liked her. She had bouncy, shoulder-length hair, and her wide blue eyes were sweet and inviting.

She enjoyed her life. She missed Leon, and she missed the sights of the Capital. This was all desert, and blistering hot. Columbia was still so pale, and she had frequent sunburns over her freckled face. But it was all worth it! She still smiled often, running along the roads of the Mojave with a spring in her step.

This... was not one of those days.

" _Fuck fuck fuck **FUCK** please don't kill me!"_

Columbia was screeching as she ran away from a particularly persistent Radscorpion. She'd been stung by one before - it was never pleasant. She'd also made the unfortunate decision to leave her gun, since this trip was relatively short.

The package courier tripped and fell onto the sand, and looked back as she accepted her fate. She shut her eyes -

And a gunshot sounded. Columbia very slowly opened an eye and saw the Radscorpion dead on the ground in front of her. 

"Huh-?"

She turned around, and saw a tanned, shirtless man holding an ornate-looking firearm.

-

She was the most beautiful thing the tribal had ever laid eyes on.

He felt his heart race, his face go hot - all things he was barely used to. There were no female Boot Riders - just the wives of the high ranking guys. Bingo and his goons, mostly.

Benny Gecko was not high-ranking. Benny had settled into knowing he'd probably never have a spouse or kids, and he was more than alright with that.

Coming face-to-face with this package courier, with her gorgeous blue eyes and freckled cheeks, was enough to give the man a heart attack.

"...Hello? Excuse me-"

Benny was pulled out of his own mind by the quiet voice of the courier. He cleared his throat and looked at her, a goofy grin on his face.  
"What was that, doll?"

Columbia was a little taken aback by the slang - slang she had only heard in movies and prewar radio programs. She was still on her knees in front of the tribal, dusting herself off. 

"I said thank you."

"Oh."  
Dammit, Benny! Listen to the girl! Stop zoning out!  
"Um- it's no problem. I was hoping dinner would swing by at some point, anyways. Do you... not have a weapon?"

"Oh!"  
Columbia stood up fully, dusting off her pants as she threw her bag back over her shoulder.  
"I thought this would be a short delivery. And it's extra weight, and all..."

Who _was_ this girl?! Nobody ran around without a weapon in the Mojave.  
"...Yeah. Well, word of advice? Don't go runnin' around without a gun. You would've been worse off than a Vegas businessman in a fake out."

Columbia had _no_ idea what that meant, but she just smiled and nodded.  
"Sure. Well... Thank you again! What's your name?"

Benny looked down as Columbia extended a hand. A bit confused, he took it and shook.

"Benny. Gecko. Er... Benny Gecko."

"Nice to meet you!"  
Columbia was like a ray of sunshine.  
"I'm Columbia Lovecraft."

"Columbia, huh?"  
Not a name Benny had heard before. He stepped past Columbia and nudged the dead Radscorpion with his foot.  
"...Well, Columbia, you wanna stay for dinner?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a short in-between chpter, things really start to pick up after the next one! thanks for reading, i really appreciate everyone's feedback. makes my heart happy!!!


End file.
